


the feel of your palm pressed to my palm

by lavenderlotion



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BAMF Loki (Marvel), BAMF Peter Parker, Civil War Team Iron Man, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, Genderqueer Character, M/M, Magic, Married James "Rhodey" Rhodes/Tony Stark, Not Steve Rogers Friendly, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Pre-Relationship, Team as Family, not wanda maximoff friendly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-21
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:13:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28216773
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lavenderlotion/pseuds/lavenderlotion
Summary: “I have a bad feeling about this.”
Relationships: (Background Harley Kenner/Stephen Strange), Loki/Peter Parker
Comments: 52
Kudos: 228





	the feel of your palm pressed to my palm

“I have a bad feeling about this.” Peter’s voice was weak and his posture weaker as he and his team shuffled up the compound's front-drive. 

It was nothing like it used to be, Peter noted. He’d been here once or twice back when Dr. Stark still owned the property, but then Dr. Stark sold it to the UN to use it as a training ground for new members of the accords and young, powered individuals who needed a safe space and it... it didn’t look bad! It was still huge, and super impressive, it was just more... it was a lot more militant. 

The gardens weren’t as perfectly polished as they had been when Dr. Stark owned the property and spent exuberant amounts of money on gardeners and landscapers. In fact, what used to be beautiful gardens were now nothing more than a manicured lawn. And it wasn’t that the building wasn’t just as nice, really, there was just a lot of grey. Everywhere. 

Peter hadn’t been here since before the Protectors were formed, and that had been almost three years ago. It was kinda shocking to see how the building had changed during that time, since he’d sorta expected it to stay the same. Actually, he hadn’t expected to ever  _ see _ the place again, and they were only here now ‘cause of some stupid political game that was being played, which irked Peter to no end. 

It had been... gosh, it had been almost a year since  _ “The Pardoning”, _ which is what the media had dubbed the Avengers return to American soil. Things had been going pretty good since then, but good things couldn't last forever or whatever the saying was. The peace that Peter had felt being on a team of amazing people who cared about him was wonderful, and he was absolutely terrified that something was going to happen today to send it all crashing down around him. 

Dr. Stark said that was just his paranoia, but what did he know, anyway? 

“A bad feeling or a  _ bad _ feeling, kid?” Colonel Rhodes asked, a heavy frown on his face as he stepped closer. Not even Peter’s hearing could pick up the mechanical whir of the braces he wore proudly, not after the last update he’d fine-tuned under Dr. Stark's’ sharp gaze. 

Peter shrugged, scuffing his foot against the cement step as they all came to a stop before the front doors. “I...” he trailed off, unsure, and looked at his team. 

Colonel Rhodes was standing all tall and a little stupidly handsome in his Air Force uniform, which he only wore when he wanted to look  _ extra _ intimidating. Dr. Stark was slouching in a tailored suit and dark sunglasses, with a smile that looked forced. Harley was in ripped-up jeans and a hoodie that  _ definitely _ belonged to Dr. Strange, his fingers lost in the long fabric. And there was Loki, standing at Peter’s side in their own, all-black suit, their hair hanging in loose waves around their face and looking ridiculously beautiful. 

It was just the five of them, since Dr. Strange was doing something at the Sanctum, Captain Danvers was doing something in  _ space, _ and Ms. van Dyne was on a business... thing with Ms. Potts (Peter was pretty sure they were on a romantic getaway, but he wasn’t going to call them out if no one else was). Vision had decided to stay home—not even the political bullshit that forced them here could override his completely legal restraining order—and Peter couldn’t blame him one bit. 

But... that meant they only had, like, half their team, and while they  _ shouldn’t _ be in any danger... 

The last time Peter had met the Avengers, Captain America had dropped a multi-ton Jetway onto his head, so, ya know, excuse him for being a little nervous. 

Before he had the chance to actually start freaking out, Harley came over and bumped their shoulders together. “You good?”

Peter took a deep breath and did his best to nod his head, pushing down his anxiety so he could really figure out what he was feeling. Colonel Rhodes and Dr. Stark were both still staring at him. Loki had their eyes closed, but Peter wasn’t foolish enough to think that they weren't focused  _ right _ on Peter. 

“Just a bad feeling,” Peter finally confirmed, letting a bit of his tension drain away as Harley leaned against him. 

“Good.” Dr. Stark clapped his hands together, in a way he did with the press that had them all paying attention. “Listen, I don’t wanna be here. You four don’t wanna be here. Let’s just get in, play nice, and get the hell out, ‘cause I want Shawarma but it’s Monday, so the place I wanna go to closes stupidly early and if I don’t get garlic in me today I’m gonna be pissed.”

“And that means that  _ I _ will be pissed,” added Colonel Rhodes, though he said it with a smile. 

“Alright boys, husbands and godly beings, roll out!”

“Does he know we aren’t robots?” Harley whispered in his ear, and Peter cackled out a laugh.

The doors to the compound opened for them when they got close enough. Peter took a deep breath and forced himself to let it out. Just because things had gone bad last time didn’t mean that they were going to go bad this time. They had a new team, and they had new rules, regulations and  _ laws _ than what had been in place last time. 

It was going to be fine and there was seriously nothing to worry about. At least, that was what Peter kept telling himself, doing his very best to believe it as they walked through the compound. It was brimming with people, though that was to be expected. Dr. Stark knew where he was going, so Peter followed behind him, walking side-by-side with Harley. Loki was a few steps in front of him, which meant that Peter was  _ not at all _ checking out their ass, nuh-huh. 

He was just looking! It  _ was _ a very nice bum, and Peter was looking respectfully. Yeah! He was checking Loki out  _ respectfully!  _

Peter stopped looking respectfully as they came to a stop in front of a big set of double doors. He realized that he hadn’t actually paid any attention to how they’d gotten here, but... eh. He had his team. To the right was a big screen embedded in the wall that Dr. Stark went over and typed on, and then he turned back to them with a frown. 

“Are we good?” Dr. Stark asked, and Peter knew, just by the tenseness of his jaw, that if any one of them said ‘no’, Tony would haul them out of there in an instant and would bear the brunt of whatever fall-out that caused. 

Peter knew, too, that none of them would do that to him. 

“Yeah, Tones,” Colonel Rhodes said gently, reaching out and taking Dr. Stark’s hand in his own to draw him into a hug. “Are you okay?” 

Peter looked away and pretended he couldn’t hear the whispered conversation between the two of them, catching Loki’s eye. They were just as tense as Peter, as Dr. Stark, as all of them. Peter reached out, and immediately Loki was stepping forward and lacing their fingers together. 

“It will be okay,” Loki promised him, a soft smile on their face that made Peter’s heart race. 

It was easy to smile back, easier to let the rest of his tension bleed away under the sweet look in Loki’s eyes. Peter was opening his mouth to answer when Harley barrelled into him from behind and almost knocked him over, causing Peter to  _ squeak _ so loudly his entire face went red-hot.

“Nothing will be okay ever again,” Harley groaned, pulling Peter back to standing and stepping away before he could  _ murder _ him. 

But then he got a look at Harley’s face and his annoyance died away because he looked, frankly, pathetic. 

“Is Dr. Strange still busy?” Peter asked with a laugh, squeezing Loki’s fingers between his own before they both pulled away at the same time. 

_ “Yes,” _ Harley groaned, planting his face against Peter’s shoulder. “He’s doing some mystical shit I don’t care about but that  _ means _ he isn’t answering my texts.”

“There, there,” Peter soothed, patting Harley’s hair and scratching across his scalp like Harley loved to balance out his sarcasm. 

“Children!” Dr. Stark called, which got Peter and Harley to roll their eyes at one another before turning to face the man in question. Dr. Stark was  _ smiling, _ actually, which made something like relief well up in Peter’s chest. Clearly, Colonel Rhodes had gotten him to calm down. “So... we’re a little outnumbered.” 

“How outnumbered?” Loki asked, something dangerous in their voice that made Peter shiver. 

Peter shot his eyes over to Loki, taking in the tense look on their face. It was the same look they wore before every press conference. Every interview. Every social gathering they had to attend. Loki was  _ incredibly _ aware of how a lot of the world still viewed them, even though it had been like  _ seven _ whole years  _ and _ it hadn’t even been Loki’s fault. 

“Uh... their six to our five.” 

“Oh my God, old man, that was so dramatic for nothing,” Harley muttered, crossing his arms over his chest as he shot Dr. Stark a look. Peter and Loki both snickered. 

“Whoa teenage angst, chill out,” Dr. Stark shot back, laying a hand over his heart. “The  _ last _ thing that any of us need is a surprise. It’s best we all go into this knowing as much as we can, so we can be as careful and safe as possible, alright?” 

Harley grumbled something that sounded like an agreement, and Peter bumped their shoulders together. 

“C’mon,” Peter started, doing his best to sound chipper, “it’ll be fine!”

“Famous last words,” Colonel Rhodes muttered, but Peter dutifully ignored him and his pessimism—they really didn’t need  _ any _ additional bad energy—and instead did his best to smile. 

And then things were not fine.

_ Really not fine. _

The doors in front of them slid open with a  _ swoosh _ and Peter only had a  _ second _ to take in the huge training area before them, completely awed, of course, before something was pinging on his senses. Peter tensed, his entire body going tight, and then all at once he was moving—his left arm shot out, fingers curling tightly around Loki’s hip so he could shove the God behind him as he stepped into the space Loki had just occupied, right arm shooting out and—

The edge of Roger’s shield wasn’t sharp enough to cut into his palm, but the concussive force shattered bones all the same. He grimaced against the rush of pain and his grip went iron tight around Loki’s hip.

In a voice Peter had never heard before, Dr. Stark growled, “That’s strike one, Rogers,” and Peter threw the shield with every  _ fibre _ of strength he possessed and watched as it hit Rogers in the gut and sent him flying backwards, “and you don’t want us to get to strike two. Understood?” 

Cold fingers wrapped around his wrist and a rush of  _ cool _ ran under his skin. It took the pain with it, leaving behind a comfortable nothingness as Peter’s enhanced healing was aided along by Loki’s magic. 

“It’s alright, little spider,” Loki said quietly, the words soft enough to be a whisper for Peter’s ears alone, and some of the tension bled from his shoulders. 

Then the tension piled right back up when the  _ other _ spider said, “Why would you bring  _ him _ here?!”

Peter blinked as he leaned back into Loki’s taller form, letting the Jotun wrap a hand around his waist and hold him up. The two of them had always been tactile, dancing around something neither of them had yet to put a name to, and Peter was glad for it now. Glad that he was able to feel Loki’s heart thumping against his back, senses dialled up to  _ eleven _ because the Avengers felt like a threat. 

“It was a  _ bad _ feeling,” Peter whispered, doing his best to calm down now that he was in Loki’s arms. 

Wilson and Barnes both rushed over to help Rogers to his feet, who was coughing up a damn lung. Peter felt a cold sense of satisfaction twine through him, especially when Loki breathed warmly against his neck. The Widow and the Witch watched them, Rushmanova—as Colonel Rhodes called her—standing in what was probably supposed to an intimidating pose, and Maximoff with red swirling around her fingers. 

Peter waited with bated breath, his team standing tense around him. Rogers got to his feet, leaving his shield on the floor. They hadn’t even stepped into the training room and already things were going to shit. 

God, it was just their luck. 

“Stark, what the hell were you  _ thinking?”  _ Rogers demanded, righteous and full of fury. 

The confusion in Dr. Stark’s voice was easy to hear. “What do you mean?” 

“Don’t act dumb, Stark,” Wilson snarled, taking a step forward. “It ain’t a good look on ya.”

Colonel Rhodes took a step forward too, he and Dr. Stark the only two to cross the threshold into the training room. Harley was hanging back with them and Peter didn’t need to look to know his suit had covered his body under his borrowed hoodie. 

“You are the ones that demanded this goddamn meeting and the first thing you do is  _ attack _ my team!” Dr. Stark demanded deathly calm and speaking in a voice that made Peter shiver. “What the hell were  _ you _ thinking!”

Loki must have felt it because their arm tightened even further around Peter’s waist. 

“Loki is a  _ criminal—” _

“Pretending to be that fucking stupid might work with the Council but we aren’t a bunch of dumbasses,” Harley called out, his voice echoing around the room in a way Peter had always found impressive. “Loki’s been a member of the Protectors for a year. The Accords Council pardoned them, much the same way they’ve done for all of you, and since then they’ve been a successful member of our team.”

“Eleven months and twenty-seven days, to be exact,” Loki pipped in, and Peter snickered as he squeezed their wrist. 

“What are you talking about?” Rogers growled, his face and unflattering shade of red as the rest of his team made a loose semi-circle around his back. 

“You’re kidding me, right?” Dr. Stark asked, sounding just as incredulous as Peter felt. Rogers growled  _ “Stark” _ but didn’t say anything else, and Peter’s whole team rolled their eyes in unison. “Okay. Wow.  _ Wow, _ Rogers, you never fail to amaze me, huh.”

“Stark...” Widow started, taking a step forward and passing in front of Roger’s. Harley stepped up in response, coming to a stop at Dr. Stark’s left. His suit hissed, not loud enough for any of the baseline humans to hear, but Peter was sure the super-soldiers would. 

Loki squeezed Peter’s waist one last time before letting him go. Peter stepped forward, moving beside Colonel Rhodes as Loki went to put the five of them in a line, standing tall next to Harley. Peter saw Dr. Stark cross his arms out of the corner of his eye, but he didn’t take his eyes away from Rogers or Barnes. 

If they decided to attack, they would be the ones Peter dealt with first. 

Then, before Dr. Stark could speak, another voice echoed through the training facility. 

“Tell me why I shouldn’t put an arrow through him right now?” 

Dr. Stark straight up  _ growled, _ and he spat out,  _ “They  _ are a respected, recognized member of our team and I will  _ not _ stand you threatening them again.”

“You demanded that we train together and you don’t even know who’s on our team?” Colonel Rhodes asked, barking out a sarcastic sounding laugh. “You’re wasting our time.” 

“This isn’t a waste!” Rogers insisted, righteous and dumb. 

“Then are we going to ‘train’ or you are going to keep threatening us?”

Peter snickered at Harley’s tone, watching closely as Rogers stiffened. Thankfully he didn’t say anything else, and instead, he let out a long-suffering sigh that was absolutely  _ ridiculous _ considering  _ they _ were the complete idiots here and not the other way around. Peter did his best to push down his annoyance, frustrated that Loki was on the other side of the line but doing his best to push it down and give his full attention to the people in front of him. 

Barton jumped down from where he’d been... perched in the ceiling? What the hell? And stalked forward to come to a stop with the rest of the Avengers. He was in a  _ very _ bright purple suit, and Peter realized for the first time they were all in their combat gear. 

Wilson was literally wearing the Falcon wings. 

Huh.  _ That _ was how they showed up to a peaceful training session? What the hell! 

“Right. We were hoping to host a couple sparring matches. Get a feel for how the different members of our team might work together.” It was Wilson who spoke, sounding like he was trying to make his voice carry. 

“Why would we need to know that?”

“Well, we won’t be separate forever, Tony,” Rogers said, like it was the most obvious answer in the world, which... 

“You do know you aren’t joining our team, right?” Peter asked, unable to bite down the question  _ or _ the incredulous tone he asked it in. 

“Of course not,” Barton said with a ridiculous snort that said exactly what it needed to. 

“And we won’t be joining you,” Harley added. He and Peter met eyes with a grin. Brotherly wavelengths! 

“As if we would accept any of  _ you _ onto the Avengers.” The Witch’s voice was laced with acid, annoying, and Peter snorted. 

_ Wow, _ Vision has seriously dodged a bullet there. 

“Ugh... right.” Tony clapped his hands together and took his sunglasses off, hanging them from the front of his dress shirt. “Let’s start off with something simple then. How about... our least trained in hand-to-hand versus your least trained?” 

“I...”

“Alright,” Wilson agreed, stepping forward and cutting off Rogers. Huh. Dissension among the ranks? 

“Good,” Colonel Rhodes echoed with finality, and Tony clapped his hands together again. 

And then... no one moved. Peter wasn’t about to take the first step, considering his team weren’t even the ones who made this happen. This whole mess was on the Avengers, and it seemed the rest of his team were on the same page with waiting them out. Not taking the first step and letting the Avengers decide how this thing played out. 

Peter sent a look over to Harley to share another eye roll, wondering what the others were going to do and content to wait and find out. Honestly, the longer it took the better. He was  _ still _ not feeling great about this whole thing, and it made him wish ever more that he was beside Loki. But then the God caught his eye and grinned widely at him, which helped soothe some of the agitation circling under his skin. 

“Alright, who’ll I be sparring against?” Dr. Stark stepped up with a perfectly-in-place press smirk that made Peter uneasy, especially when, across the room, the Witch stepped forward with a manic grin. 

“Stark,” Maximoff said, red swirling around her fingers in an obvious show of threat. Peter saw Loki tense up, but they didn’t move. “This is going to be quite enjoyable.”

“Right... that wasn’t obnoxious or anything. Are we going to spar or not?” 

“Dr. Stark,” Peter said quietly, taking a step forward. There was something angry swirling around in his chest, something he needed to work through. Beating someone up was probably a good start. 

And besides, letting Dr. Stark go against the Witch was  _ not _ something he was going to let happen. 

“Peter?” 

“Don’t lie,” Peter ordered, looking at him heavily. “Saying you’re the least trained in hand to hand is like saying I’m a baseline human.”

Dr. Stark opened his mouth to protest, but Peter glared him down. He really was the one on their team with the least hand-to-hand experience. Harley had been training since he first met Tony in various martial arts, and the others spoke for themselves. While Peter had gotten lessons here and there, he was definitely the least trained, considering a lot of his own superheroing around Queens allowed him to rely on his super strength. 

Which... Peter eyed Maximoff warily as he stepped forward onto the large padded area between their teams. The Avengers stepped back and his team stepped up, until both teams were lined up on either side of the mats. This was  _ not _ going to go well, that was for freaking sure, but part of Peter was interested in seeing _ how _ things were going to go to shit. Since it was Maximoff they were dealing with, Peter could pretty much guess what was going to happen. 

Ugh. 

It was  _ not _ going to be fun. 

“You? The little spider?” Maximoff sneered at him with an ugly look on her face, and Peter suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. He  _ knew _ he wasn’t the tallest, but he wasn’t  _ that _ short! 

Gods, why couldn’t the spider bite have come with a growth spurt?

“I’ll hold my strength back, don’t worry,” Peter assured, giving the friendliest smile that he could muster. 

“I do not need your weakness,” Maximoff growled.

“Ugh... okay? I mean if you want me to break your bones... I guess I can?”

“You will not even have the chance,” Maximoff growled right before swirling red magic shot straight towards Peter’s head. 

Peter didn’t even flinch. He stood stock-still, his entire body locked tight with tension and ready to spring himself away at a moment’s notice  _ if _ he needed. He didn’t. Before the swirling red of mass could touch him, it dissipated in a shower of sparkling gold magic that landed on the mats like glitter before twinkling away into nothing. 

“Strike two,” Dr. Stark called, and his eyes were dark when he turned to them. “Lokes.”

Peter’s eyes snapped to the God, and he watched as a vicious smile spread across Loki’s face. 

“You call yourself a  _ witch,” _ Loki spat, stalking forward in a way that made Peter’s pants a little damp.

Magic  _ seeped _ from Loki’s skin, their seiðr pulsing around them in a colourful array of greens interspersed with bright flashes of blinding gold power. It  _ breathed _ with him, an extension of himself in a way that Peter had never really understood but felt like he could see now. The whole thing was  _ seriously _ arousing and heat flooded Peter’s stomach as he watched. 

“Your perverse show of power is  _ nothing,” _ Loki growled, their voice dropping into something dark and dangerous as Wanda was lifted from the ground by a mass of magic that seemed to seep into her skin. 

The others stepped forward, no doubt about to attack, but before they could take more than a few steps ice was crawling up their body and fully encasing them up to their neck. The Avengers were completely immobilized in a matter of  _ seconds, _ which was such a ridiculously smexy show of power that Peter whimpered—then ignored the look Colonel Rhodes shot him—and pretended he hadn’t made any noise at all.

No sir. Not him being horny on main. Nuh-huh. 

They were all shouting nonsense but Peter didn’t care, not at all, since all of his attention was zeroed in on Loki and the way they’d come to a stop. Magic was swirling around their body, making the satin finish of their suit glow prettily as their hair lifted with their magic. 

“You will not attack what is mine with this poor excuse of magic every again,” Loki snapped, which was... whoa.  _ Whoa, _ alrighty, Peter was literally  _ dripping, _ Jesus Christ. 

Before he could start trying to get himself under control, there was a bright flash of teal light, some sparkles of gold, and then Maximoff started  _ screeching  _ in a way that was even  _ more _ annoying than her weird threats from earlier, and Peter raised his lip in a snarl. 

Loki turned around seemingly without a care, and the ice holding the Avengers still burst apart and turned into a sprinkling of falling snow. Peter couldn't take his eyes from Loki and the way they were standing tall, their shoulders spread broadly and hands glowing with magic at their sides. The ice was a show of strength unlike anything Peter had ever seen from them before, not even out on the field, and it left him  _ wanting.  _

Peter couldn’t speak as Loki stalked towards him, their hands coming up to flutter around Peter’s face as his magic faded away. He sucked in a sharp breath as Loki’s fingers brushed across his jaw, ice-cold, and his heart fluttered at the intensity in Loki’s gaze as they looked him over. 

“Loki,” Peter whispered, taking the last step into their space. There was so much he wanted to say, wanted to  _ do, _ but his heart was racing away in his chest and his thighs were all but  _ quivering, _ and he, he...

Peter couldn’t hold himself back from brushing a kiss to the corner of Loki’s mouth, close enough to their lips that it was a whisper of a kiss but far enough on their cheek that he could claim innocence if he needed to. With the way Loki grabbed Peter’s hips and drew him even closer, he didn’t need to. 

“Thank you,” Peter breathed, resting his hands against the lapels of Loki’s suit. “That was...”

“No less impressive than you, little spider,” Loki murmured. He grabbed Peter’s wrist and brought it to their lips, brushing a soft, gentle kiss to the centre of Peter’s now fully healed palm. 

“That was anticlimactic,” Harley drawled. His voice shocked Peter out of a haze coloured by Loki’s eyes and when Peter startled back he found Harley staring at him with an expectant look. 

“That’s the end of this, Rogers. Don’t even dare try to contact us again or I will  _ ruin  _ every single one of you.” Dr. Stark took a deep breath before he rolled his shoulders. His right hand was tightly laced with Colonel Rhodes, and he looked absolutely exhausted when he turned to them. “Alright, love birds, it’s time to roll out.”

Harley pointed out,  _ again _ , that they weren’t robots, but Peter still couldn’t pull his eyes away from Loki who was still looking at him evenly. Now, Loki was running their thumb in small, distracting circles across Peter’s wrist, and all Peter could think about was the way they must be able to feel his racing pulse. Could they feel anything else? Could they feel how badly Loki wanted them?

“Loki...”

“Not here and not now,” Loki whispered back, and then leaned down to press a kiss to Peter’s forehead. “But soon, darling.”

“Soon,” Peter whispered right back, like a promise, all too aware of the angry,  _ threatening  _ eyes on them and the way they made his shoulders tense. 

Peter could wait. Peter could  _ so _ wait, especially with the way Loki’s fingers were cool and  _ banding _ against his hips. 

Oh yeah, he’d  _ happily _ wait as long as Loki just kept touching him. 

**Author's Note:**

> come say hi to me on [tumblr](https://lavender-lotion.tumblr.com/)!
> 
> kudos aren’t the same as getting a comment, not even close. so a comment, as short and sweet or as sprawling and sporadic as you can manage, would be _greatly_ appreciated! don't know what to comment? how about _”this was great!”_ or _“awesome work!”_
> 
> i run an 18+ x-men discord server! check it out [here!](https://discord.gg/pebvUEnWB6)


End file.
